Navy showcases new equipment during drill ahead of Lunar New Year

2015/01/28 15:56:03

Kaohsiung, Jan. 28 (CNA) The Navy showcased a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) it will soon acquire to help with its intelligence gathering during a drill Wednesday in southern Taiwan that simulated an attack from China.

The live-fire drill at a naval base in Kaohsiung, which was open to the media, simulated an attack of an opposing force landing at Kaohsiung on a ship from China and then taking over some port facilities.

The Navy's 99th Marine Brigade was then ordered to take back the facilities, and it used the UAV to collect intelligence on the occupied area before launching a counter-attack to overcome the enemy.

Following the drill, the navy showcased the locally developed UAV it is purchasing to strengthen its patrol and intelligence collecting capabilities.

Developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, the Cardinal Mini-UAV, which weighs 5.5 kilograms, can be used for reconnaissance missions, a naval officer said. It has a remote control flight range of about 10 kilometers and can remain in the air for about 40 minutes at a time, he added.

The navy said it will acquire five sets of the Cardinal Mini-UAVs between 2015 and 2016.

An anti-tank rocket system developed by the institute was also featured in the drill. The navy is purchasing 600 sets of the system this year, which can reach a range of more than 400 meters, it said.

Two AAV7 amphibious assault vehicles were also deployed in the drill.

Each year before the Chinese Lunar New Year, the military organizes media tours to military units to showcase their preparedness for attack.

The army and the air force held similar drills a day earlier to demonstrate their combat readiness.